Medicine: Ill Winds

Dr. Clarence Alonzo Mills of the University of Cincinnati believes that sun spots cause economic depressions. He also believes that the biggest cause of disease in the U. S. is not poverty, urban life, or plain ignorance, but "cold polar waves traveling down the central trough of the continent." Last week in a book-full of statistics, weather maps and medical long shots, Dr. Mills published his latest ideas on the ill winds of North America.

Some of his theories:

≫ Because of severe winters there are more cases of tuberculosis in the North than in the South. Yet a higher proportion of Southerners than Northerners die from T.B. every year. Reason: the same harsh winds which often drive Northerners into sick beds also end by toughening them. Southerners living in a calm climate have no chance to develop their forces of resistance.

≫ Heart disease and diabetes are also more common in the North than in the South. Reason: Northerners must work hard to generate body heat during long cold winters, often overstrain their energy centres. Diabetes, for example, is caused by break-down of the pancreas, an abdominal gland which secretes a hormone responsible for converting sugar into energy. Toxic goitre, which frequently accompanies diabetes, is caused by strain on the thyroid gland, which regulates energy production.

≫ "Mental instability seems to be influenced by the instability of the weather. . . . With the pressure falling and the temperature rising we are afflicted with a feeling of futility." Statistics of cities lying in stormy areas, such as Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, show that most suicides occur during periods of low barometric pressure.

≫ Too much air-cooling in the summer is unhealthy, says Dr. Mills. "Body and mind seem to need this annual period of biologic rest. Any great degree of summer cooling tends to keep the body machine going at winter speed, and must only accentuate the signs of wear and tear."